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An increasing number of studies have reported high infection rates for American cutaneous leishmaniasis in dogs, which have thus been proposed as the reservoir host. Canine leishmaniasis is widespread in different states in Mexico, where a number of Leishmania species have been isolated from dogs. In the present study, the detection of different Leishmania species is described in stray dogs from two localities, namely Tulum and Celestún on the Yucatan Peninsula (Mexico). The use of iron-superoxide dismutase excreted by the parasites as the antigen fraction and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot tests allowed us to confirm the presence of at least three species of Leishmania (Le. mexicana, Le. braziliensis, and Le. panamensis), some of which are reported for the first time in this species. In addition to a high prevalence of Le. mexicana and Le. braziliensis, and to a lesser degree, Le. panamensis, there is a significant prevalence of Trypanosoma cruzi, suggesting that the dog may be a source of transmission of trypanosomiasis. However, a more thorough epidemiological study on the dog population, both wild as well as urban, of the Yucatan Peninsula will be required to design a control strategy for these diseases, paying particular attention to the population affected and even broadening the study to other Mexican states as well as neighboring countries. These results again confirm that iron-superoxide dismutase excreted by the different trypanosomatid species constitutes a good source of antigen for serodiagnosis in epidemiological studies.

A superoxide dismutase excreted by promastigote forms of L. (Viannia) peruviana (SODe-Lp), L. (Viannia) brazilensis (SODe-Lb), and L. (L.) amazonensis (SODe-La) is tested to evaluate its potential value as a diagnostic tool of mucocutaneous and Andean cutaneous leishmaniasis. We used 45 sera with mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (SL) and 68 with Andean cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL). SODe-Lp antigen was recognized by 94% of the serum from ACL patients, and the SODe-Lb antigen was recognized by 93% of the serum from SL patients. Meanwhile, the result for SL and ACL patients with SODe-La antigen was 69% and 43% and SODe-Li was 11% and 9%, respectively. This suggest that antibodies to SODe-Lp undergo further response in patients with ACL and the antibodies to SODe-Lb do so preferentially in patients with SL. The SODe ELISA may be useful in endemic areas for discriminative assays between patients with different forms of leishmaniases and those with other clinical conditions.

Background The antibody response to SARS-CoV-2 mRNA vaccines in individuals with waning immunity generated by a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection, as well as the patterns of IgA and IgM responses in previously infected and in naïve individuals are still poorly understood. Methods We performed a serology study in a cohort of BTN162b2 mRNA vaccine recipients who were immunologically naïve (N, n = 50) or had been previously infected with SARS-CoV-2 (P.I., n = 51) during the first (n = 25) or second (n = 26) pandemic waves in Italy, respectively. We measured IgG, IgM and IgA antibodies against the SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S) and IgG against the nucleocapsid (N) proteins, as well as the neutralizing activity of sera collected before vaccination, after the first and second dose of vaccine. Results Most P.I. individuals from the first pandemic wave who showed declining antibody titres responded to the first vaccine dose with IgG-S and pseudovirus neutralization titres that were significantly higher than those observed in N individuals after the second vaccine dose. In all recipients, a single dose of vaccine was sufficient to induce a potent IgA response that was not associated with serum neutralization titres. We observed an unconventional pattern of IgM responses that were elicited in only half of immunologically naïve subjects even after the second vaccine dose. Conclusions The response to a single dose of vaccine in P.I. individuals is more potent than that observed in N individuals after two doses. Vaccine-induced IgA are not associated with serum neutralization.